1995 Vintage Champagne horizontal
Medlar (London)
Tasted Thursday, September 12, 2019 by BenBlu with 325 views
Introduction
Eagerly awaited 3rd edition of the London Champagne Super Group - this time the "task" was to examine the 1995 vintage. The first editions were on 2008 and 2002 and both times the quality was high. So how would 1995 stack up? Wines were served in flights of 3 blind (with exception of aperitif champagnes and digestif champagne)
Flight 1 - Aperitif (3 Notes)
3 champagnes non-blind to kick things off.
Flight 2 - Blind flight #1/6 (3 Notes)
Flight 3 - Blind flight #2/6 (3 Notes)
Flight 4 - Blind flight #3/6 (3 Notes)
Flight 5 - Blind flight #4/6 (3 Notes)
Flight 6 - Blind flight #5/6 (3 Notes)
Flight 7 - Blind flight #6/6 (4 Notes)
Closing
Firstly big thanks for Medlar for hosting us so well. Exceptionally efficient service making for a great streamlined evening with the option to assess those beautiful wines in a relaxed atmosphere and with fellow champagne lovers. 1995 is a generous vintage and it is a great one. Most people felt it is above 2002 in consistency. I personally think that might be true however with almost 25 years gone by there is now some bottle variation showing for wines that may not have been perfectly stored. And sourcing 1995s is already difficult at times. Overall I think 1995 is a truly great vintage and is certainly a bit underrated as it belongs in the pantheon of vintages like 1996 (for me it is better than 1996 I think as many 1996s are quite tight and never blossomed) & 2002 although it might not always be placed in that ballpark by everyone. People who have well stored bottle should be popping corks and generally should be in for a treat. WOTN (again) was Cristal Rose, and this was unanimous. Other stand-outs were Comtes de Champagne, Krug (better today in normal vs magnum) and Charles Heidsieck BdM. Others also liked the Philipponat Clos Goisses and Billecart Clos St Hilaire very much (as did I but for me they were just below the other top bottles).
1995 Ruinart Champagne Brut Millésimé 95 Points
France, Champagne
To kick-off our 1995 vertical this was one of the non-blind aperitifs. We had two bottles and both were consistent. And consistently great they were! My surprise of the night this was punching WAY above my expectations. In fact it most certainly was better (at this stage) then the Dom Ruinart we had a few weeks back at the 2002 vertical. In 1995 there was no Dom Ruinart produced btw. Surely nowadays given how houses launch prestige cuvees wherever possible no matter the vintage hard to imagine. Well this baby didn't make me long for a Dom. It was the real deal. Golden hue in the glass, straight from pour lovely glass open and seductive with balance, clarity and fruit and a honeyed note to finish. Also it didn't fall apart even with half an hour in the glass. Wow what a find! Thanks for bringing these two bonus bottles (among many others) Stephen.
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1995 Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut Flawed
France, Champagne
Served non-blind as aperitif. Not a perfect bottle but drinkable. Next to the Ruinart 95 an anticlimax clearly. Cloudy and developed in colour, bit grainy finish and hollow.
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1995 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut Vintage Flawed
France, Champagne
One of the few glasses that went pretty fully in the spittoon. This served non-blind as one of the aperitifs to kick things off was not a great example. Bitter on the nose, quite unpleasant. Oxidised within a few minutes in the glass.
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